Beauty Sea aims to reinvent herself as a sprinter, taking a shot at the Polar Star Handicap

One of the standout colts of his generation, he towers over this afternoon’s feature, the 1200-meter Polar Star Handicap on the Palermo dirt

Beauty Sea when winning the Old Man Stakes as a juvenile / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

Another long and generally modest Friday card awaits at San Isidro, where the Polar Star Handicap will serve as the day’s main attraction. Run over 1300 meters for horses five and up, the race offers a winner’s purse of barely ARS 4.4 million, a figure that highlights the severe lag in prize-money levels across the country’s major tracks—virtually unchanged throughout the year despite rising costs.

Even with inflation slowing, monthly increases continue to hit hard, as do training and travel expenses. In many cases, even winning barely covers anything—especially for connections shipping from the interior. Whoever crosses the wire first here will take home roughly ARS 3 million, not even enough to cover three months of training. The math simply does not work.

From a form perspective, Nicolás Martín Ferro appears strongly positioned. He saddles Beauty Sea (Seahenge, 56kg), one of the standouts of his generation now attempting to reinvent himself as a sprinter, and Flying to the Sky (Señor Candy, 57.5kg), who seeks to rebound from his latest effort.

Beauty Sea’s résumé speaks for itself: runner-up in the G1 Jockey Club, third in the G1 Polla de Potrillos, fourth in the G1 Gran Premio Nacional, plus a victory in the G3 Old Man. Those credentials make him the class of the field, and he comes into this off a sharp comeback win in a tough 1200-meter turf allowance.

Flying to the Sky most recently finished fifth behind El Ernesto (Il Campione) in the Listed Orange, but before that delivered a strong closing victory in the Handicap APHARA at Palermo. He is always a horse to respect.

Other experienced names line up as well, including Mr Neil (Valid Stripes, 57kg), shipping in from Palermo with upset intentions; veteran mare Aiyanna (Santillano, 56.5kg); and the in-form Qué Bombón (Daniel Boone, 55kg), all looking to make their presence felt.